No Questions Asked
by Wildeve of the Heath
Summary: After getting out of prison, Ymir returns with nothing but the desire to rebuild herself, and a certain young girl is the key to her ascendance to lost power. Modern!AU
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

No Questions Asked

After getting out of prison, Ymir returns with nothing but the desire to rebuild herself, and a certain young girl is the key to her ascendance to lost power. Modern!AU

A/N: Started this weeeeeeks ago, it was supposed to be a pilot chapter for Below the Surface but was nearly scrapped, decided to revive it. Wrote it out when I was listening to Ana Johnson's "We Are". If you loved the insanity of that last fic, come read this.

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><p>Ymir would have chosen to slipped into society and live an honest life without crime and violence.<p>

That was what she wanted to do before when she thought she was going to be set for life. However, that dream was gone and she was let free to walk amongst the people in California; she couldn't hold down a job. Months passed as she drifted from city to city, she was booted out immediately from petty work as she had the tendency to sneak out cash and other items to sell in the street.

Every job she took, she used a different name to avoid recognition later on in the future. Luckily her bosses never pressed charges against her, the last thing she needed was to sent back to prison. She preferred to stay off the grid for the most part.

She was at the end of her rope when she got off the bus in Los Angeles, her final stop before stepping back into the criminal life. She really tried her best to lead a normal lifestyle, but without a permanent home and a steady career, she simply couldn't do it. Besides, she only knew how to do one thing: steal.

Upon her back were secondhand clothes she had taken from charity organizations where she slept along the way. She wore a dark gray long sleeve and midnight blue denim, over that, she covered herself with a black hoodie in which she always pulled the hood over. Over the years in prison, she let her hair grow out, allowing the messy layers to veil her eyes as she neglected to tuck them back

She wandered aimlessly for an hour, her craving for a cigarette bugged her all the way.

Eventually she stumbled upon a strip club called the "Wings", she would have batted an eye towards it if it weren't for an expensive looking car that was parked just right in front of it. It was one of the newer models she'd seen on the way to the city; its black coat was polished to a shine that when she passed by she could see her reflection.

Standing outside of the car was a tall, blond man with a stubble and a forming beard; the man wore a suit that indicated that he was a bodyguard. Whoever owned the vehicle and employed this man had business inside the strip joint, whoever was inside was in this particular city's underworld.

It was like readying one's self for a job interview. She started out through small connections and built herself up the ladder, tonight was her lucky night as she had just discovered an established syndicate. She immediately entered and was bombarded by the darkness and neon lights, cigars and cigarettes and the scent of sex, and the blaring sound of hard rock.

She appreciated the occasional woman as she stopped for a moment to watch a topless broad skillfully suspend herself at the near top of her poll and then slide down. A group of men watched her, some with jaws hanging while others had a neutral expression.

If her career went down a different path, human trafficking was second on the list. However, given that she was young in the beginning of it all, at some point she would have ended up being sucked into the system by a single mistake. Now, as she was still fresh from the doghouse, she doubted anyone would be stupid enough to try and force her into prostitution- she figured she could take up the trade now.

Amongst the crowd, she was approached by a scarcely dressed lady with short blond hair that appeared oddly red by the neon lights flashing overhead; her uniform for the night was a policewoman, she stood near Ymir's height.

On her neck was a tattoo, a pair of wings, one blue and the other silver- she noticed it was on every girl in this place.

A pimp's signature?

"Hey there, pretty boy," she greeted her lewdly with a smile,"do you want a dance?"

"Nah, just, um..." Ymir quickly glanced down at her for her cleavage; it was revealing and rather much more pleasing to the eye than the others she'd seen back in prison. "...looking for the boss here."

She immediately frowned, her voice dropped as she deadpanned,"She's busy at the moment and she doesn't wished to be bothered."

"She?" Ymir inquired further.

"Petra, she's in charge."

Ymir cursed herself. Even with a connection nearby, she was nothing. No name to give, no one to vouch for her, no one to recognize her. It was always a pain to start from nowhere. Years had passed and she wasn't able to catch on to names, let alone know anyone out here.

She slowly gave a nod and the woman strutted off when a group of men came in, she catered to them.

Ymir stuck to the shadows, her eyes scanning what she could see through the haze and lights.

A quick glance to her left gave her the sight of an entrance that led to an unoccupied hallway. Brow lifting an interest, she slipped into it with ease and walked by each door, one of which had any significance until she turned a corner to where another bodyguard stood. It was another blond man in a suit but, oddly enough, he wore a cravat that was speckled in dry blood.

His mouth was scrunching about as though he had a tooth ache. Ymir approached him head-on, he stood in attention, saying,"You can't enter here, off limits."

"I'm here to see Petra, I have business with her," Ymir reasoned, she didn't stop.

"Then check back later," he gruffly told her.

"Alright, but don't let your boss blame you when she loses some cash. I got a group of girls ready," she lied easily,"I can take them elsewhere."

He hesitated, then reluctantly stepped out of her way. "...go in."

She barged into the room, thus causing the two occupants to turn heads to see her. The woman stood up; unlike her girls, she wore a rather nice attire that was similar to office attire.

It was a simple office. Work was being done at two sofas and a coffee table that was cluttered with papers, Ymir ignored a woman's exclamation,"What the hell, I told Auruo to leave us alone!"

The man that sat across from her said nothing but his glare was threatening to burn a hole in Ymir's body. Obviously he didn't appreciate being barged in on. Ymir had no fear from him, that look didn't do much but she knew that he was curious, hence he didn't decide to aim a gun.

She strode to sit behind a desk, she then propped her feet up, saying,"Look, I've been wandering this place for months and I need work. Surely an idiot doesn't waltz in here without knowing what's going on."

"There is no work for you, and you can't just sit here and demand any either! Who do you think you are!?" She snapped.

"Someone who can be of use for whatever pretty boy over there is in to," Ymir said conversationally. "C'mon, look at him, he hasn't drawn his gun. He understands me, yeah? I know how this thing works and I hate starting at the bottom with nothing, I'd like to get acquainted with dirty hands. If you turn me away, I'll go elsewhere and shut down this place faster than you can give a blowjob with some other organization."

"Sit down, Petra," the man finally said.

The woman eventually got to her seat.

"I hope you realize this is a meeting-"

"-I do-"

"-between myself and her-"

"-I see-"

"-and I have no idea who the fuck you are."

"It's Ymir," she blatantly said.

"And I should care...why?"

Ymir chuckled. "Easy, you'd want me for business."

Levi held that glare, though there was a bit of a spark of interest in his eyes. "What does that entail, specifically?"

"I can be whatever you want."

He went quiet for a moment but Petra was seething, Ymir swore she could hear her teeth grinding in great agitation. She smiled at her and held her head as she leaned back further, stretching to her heart's content.

"There...may be one job you can fill in. At the moment, we have our hands tied, and this requires an unknown face, seeing as we can't trust anyone off the streets with this...money is an objective for you, correct?" Ymir curtly nodded. "Understand that if you do anything underhanded, you'll find yourself being served up to the girls as fodder."

"Much brutality," she snidely replied. "And if I succeed in this, will there be more for me to do?"

"It depends. If you do well, I'll take you to my boss, praise you, and perhaps you can be of even more use. Funny how you know where to go."

Ymir shrugged. "I have a good eye."

"Then tell me if you got a good eye for this."

He reached over to the other side of the table to get a folder, he stood up and went over to her, using the folder to brush her feet off the table. He then dropped it in front of her, prompting Ymir to lean forward and look at the contents.

"The girl we need information of is Historia Reiss."

Ymir raised a brow. "Reiss, her father's the owner of the hotel chain, um-" She snapped her fingers. "-oh, the Reiss Hotel Company, yeah?"

"Exactly. Currently, my...company is in a bind- given that Reiss refuses to relinquish ownership of his chain to us, we thought it best to gain some, hm, leverage."

"A big step from going to whore houses to hotels, isn't it?" Ymir asked as she went through the files. The girl's papers had very little to go off of. "Will we have to kidnap her?"

"No, not yet, that won't be your mission," Levi shook off,"as you see, Intel on the girl is very limited. All that we know is that she's the daughter, no idea where she is, what her age is, who she's associated with, and so on."

Ymir dumbly stared at her picture. The girl looked about twelve years old, she looked closely at the edges to find it to be worn down- surely these people were so outdated on information that they hadn't snagged a recent picture of her. She slapped the folder onto the table.

"One glance, that photo's gotta be ten years old," Ymir noted.

"You're smart."

"Uh-huh."

This Historia Reiss sounded like an elusive being. Well, she is. No listings of her mother, no listings of where she lived, not even listings of what she even looked like at the current moment. She stared at the folder once more, then at Levi, finally, it hit her.

"She's off the grid, isn't she?" Ymir said aloud.

Levi gave two sarcastic claps. "Alright, now you're impressing me."

"And...you expect me to fish out this girl in all of California?" Levi nodded once. "And how does me being a new face benefit any of us?"

"There is...another company looking for the girl at the moment, each of us have been recorded, each of us had show his or her face at some point in time- no doubt you will be perfect to seek her out."

"So much for a first job, this one sounds too complicated."

Levi scoffed and returned to his spot on the couch. "Did you really expect me to ask you to kidnap girls off the street for our business?"

Ymir blatantly replied,"I actually did. Still do."

"Well, do you want to do this job or not?"

"Oh, I'll do it."

"Complete this task in two weeks, by the end of it meet me here, same place and time."

-...-

She floundered about the streets once more.

All she had taken with her was the picture of Historia, it was tucked in the palm of her hand.

"Not much to work off of," Ymir muttered as she stopped at a corner to wait for the light to turn white so that she could cross. She had wandered far enough to end up on the clubbing district in Hollywood. She was in the crowd, she blurred them out of her mind, uncaring about their daily talks.

To her right, a group of college girls had went out to have a night of fun. To her left, a stag party.

These people were loud.

She grimaced as the light turned white, she began to cross the street.

She tucked the picture back into her pocket, unknowing of where to even begin.

"Hm..."

She stopped at a random club.

"Guy said there's another group that's looking for her..."

Alright, so she found one organization by a fluke. What if the other one had an idea on where the girl was? Ok, ok, and if they do, where would she even find those people? She wandered with the group of girls, may as well weed out the activities.

She tapped one on the shoulder, she was tipsy and looked like she belonged in a Sorority.

"Huh?"

"Do you know where most people are kidnapped?"

The group of girls stopped and stared at her quizzically. She decided to play it as a cop. She pulled out the picture and showed it to them.

"I'm looking for this young lady, she was taken a week ago and I'm running a search for her. Looking for the sickos who took her and I'm kinda new in town, mind telling me where people are most likely to be taken?"

One of them spoke up. "Uh...about three blocks from here down that street, there's been a lot of people going missing there. We never go clubbing alone-"

"Thanks! You've done a great service," Ymir said enthusiastically.

She turned heel and went to where the lady had pointed to.

Crowds thinned out, few dared ventured this way when she arrived at the indicated spot. Alone at a street corner she saw a brunette woman whose hair was tied up in a high ponytail, she looked tense given that she kept glancing at her phone every five minutes and then looking up. Ymir stuck to the shadows, observing her, no doubt this one was waiting for something.

Just about five minutes of standing there, a nice, shiny limo pulled up in front of her.

The woman handed a wad of cash to the hand that peered out from the tinted windows. In exchange, a rather hefty bag was produced from the darkness, she pocketed it into her satchel, along with a roll of money, and waved the occupants away, prompting them to drive off.

By chance, she caught a glimpse of an insignia near the door's handle; a green unicorn's head.

"Ugh, finally," her voice wheezed out as she coughed. She took to walking down the sidewalk, right where Ymir was.

She reached out to her, grappled her, and pushed her against the wall, causing her to yelp out.

"Who were those people!?" Ymir demanded roughly, pinning her quickly.

"I just came here to get my stuff- ah! Shit, fucking cop!" She exclaimed as she looked up and down Ymir's glaring features.

"I'm not a fucking cop, just answer me!" Ymir barked.

"It's the...it's the Kings!" She cried.

"Bullshit, that's a sports team-"

"I mean a _gang_!"

Ymir slowly loosened her grip, while doing so, she slipped her hand into the satchel where the plastic bag was and pulled out the drug without alerting her. "Alright, do you know where they meet?"

"N-no! I only meet them here!" She spilled out. "I don't have any contact, I just get my supply and that's it!"

Eventually, she let go of her. "Seller or consumer?"

"Seller," she admitted,"what? Ya want some? Considerin' ya pinned me down, I'm not givin' ya a good price."

Ymir waved her hand. "Nah, rather have someone straight talking to me."

She nodded and rubbed her arm. "Fuck...if ya wanted answers, ya didn't have to be forceful 'bout it."

"You a part of them?"

"Kinda, I'm not really, just a distributor. So ya ain't no cop?"

"...no, I'm just looking for a girl," Ymir admitted.

"That don't sound cop-ish to me."

"Well, I'm not, just looking for her is all. Close friend of mine," Ymir established.

"If she sucked into their thing, or anythin', I gotta tell ya, she's long gone, maybe in Mexico by now or somethin'. Sorry I can't be any help there."

She started walking away, wanting to get away from Ymir as fast as possible, but she trailed her closely. "Having you is better than nothing, would it...be alright if I stick around you until they come back?"

"I...I wouldn't mess with these people if I were ya," she started as she continued on. "Worse if ya stick with me too. With ya pokin' 'round this place fer a missin' girl, sounds like you're jus'nother Liam Nelson or somethin'."

"Who?"

"Liam Nelson? Taken?" She tried to reference the actor. "Made everyone afraid'a goin' t'France?"

Damn, Ymir had no idea what was happening in social media.

"Never watched him."

"Anyway...I dunno who ya are, I care less about what ya are, I'm goin' home-"

"Ah-ah!" Ymir turned her around and showed her the bag. She opened it, much to the woman's horror, and took a quick whiff. "Oh, rich man's drug, didn't know you were selling this high of a stuff, be a shame if I just tossed it down the drain here." She brought the bag out to the gutter. "You help me and I give this back to you. Let's start with names. I'm Ilse."

The woman glared at her, then the bag, and announced,"Sasha. Give it."

"Not so hard, is it?" Ymir sneered as she easily gave it back to her. "I'll even help you get your stuff sold, just let me get a hold of these people."

Sasha contemplated over this as she ensured her goods were not compromised. She bit at her lip nervously, then sighed, defeated,"Fine, c'mon. We got a long walk to my place."


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

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><p>If the accent didn't tell Ymir Sasha lived like trash, it was definitely her home on Sunset.<p>

Surrounding her stingy home were buildings that were developed. From what Ymir could see, she guessed that this part of the city used to be a quiet suburban paradise until companies took over from empty lots and threw down skyscrapers to block out the sun from the inhabitants. Around Sasha's small property was a chain link fence that stood at waist length, hardly any protection from intruders.

Beyond the fence, dead grass greeted her, giving the home a sadder look.

Windows were barred over the windows, both ground and upper floor, and even the front door had a secondary fence. The walls were worn with paint chips everywhere, it reminded Ymir more of a matchbox.

Sasha opened the gate of the fence and then closed it while producing a single key from her pocket.

"Mi casa es su casa," Sasha stated, unlocking the double doors.

Inside the home was a different story.

It was adequately furnished, she didn't live like a total pack rat as the living room area was clean. Two sofas, a coffee table, a ceiling fan and light, then a wide screen television set, it was like Sasha was a modest person in an honest life. At first glance of her home, Ymir wouldn't have guessed she was a drug dealer.

"Nice place," Ymir said as she slipped off her shoes, leaving them by the door. She threw herself back onto the sofa to relax, damn, when was the last time she felt soft cushions?

"I live with another, Connie, keeps this place tidy," Sasha said as she went to the kitchen, most likely to keep the stash safe.

"Sister?" She assumed 'Connie' was a girl given it sounded like a girl's name.

"Roommate, and a guy."

Ymir gave a single nod. "Ah, fuck buddy."

"No, roommate, besides, he's off at the police station too much t'fuck 'round."

Ymir sat up in alarm. "You live with a cop!?"

"Yeah," Sasha said as though it were a natural thing.

"You have...at least a pound of cocaine and you're living with a cop-"

"Secretary," she clarified.

Ymir was dumbstruck at this, trying to process this woman's living situation. The irony here, it was too much, she flicked her fingers and then slowly relaxed. Just a secretary, right? He had no power over anything, none whatsoever. Secretaries don't go up and around arresting, right? On the brighter side, she had a resource should the time come, and it had.

She then cleared her throat.

"Well then...as a secretary, does he have access to anything?"

"Ne'er really ask him, he don't ask me anythin' either."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the folded picture of the ten year old girl. She got up and went into the kitchen to where Sasha was filling a pot with some canned broth, chicken if Ymir's nose served her right. Sasha curiously peeked over at the photo, Ymir reached out further to present it better.

"If he does, can he hit up on this girl?" Ymir asked.

Sasha's eyes narrowed at the girl, she bit at her lip as she went into the depth of her mind. "Looks kinda familiar."

"Her name's Historia Reiss."

A minute.

"...oh! Like the hotel?"

Ymir nodded.

"Definitely know her, used t'be one of them child models," Sasha recalled, she drew her attention away from the picture. "Whole world knew'a her."

Fuck, was she imprisoned that long to not even be aware the kid was some child star? She really felt out of date with the world, Ymir took to sitting at the kitchen table, watching Sasha stir the soup for a bit and then go to the fridge.

"Where is she now?"

"Ah, one'a Hollywood's greatest murders...her mama was murdered up in Beverly in their home. Girl was with her mama at the time, she calls the police, they get there, kid's gone. No one knows who killed her mama, no one knows if she's dead or just missin'. Searches were done, the whole shi-bang, nothin' turns up, thing dies down and next thing ya know, some celebrity is off causin' shit somewhere and everyone forgets it."

So...her search was limited to finding a dead body? She doubted anyone would be able to use a corpse as leverage. That guy, Levi, he wouldn't be wasting time on ghosts. It wasn't pragmatic, he knew there was a truth to this, he knew.

Ymir laid the picture on the table. "I don't think she's dead."

"Ya don't?"

"No."

"Are ya one of 'em psychics?"

"Are you retarded?"

Sasha rolled her eyes when she emerged with a package, something to enhance the flavor of the soup. "Yer funny. If she ain't dead, where'd she go?"

"More of where she was placed, if you think about it," Ymir murmured, she stared at the picture. "You said she witnessed her mother's death, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"What if she got into witness protection?"

"That's pretty smart. Man, ya sure ya ain't a cop yerself?"

She looked around, the idea of being on that side of justice, it was ridiculous. A pack of cigarettes sat across the table, next to it was an ashtray and lighter; she slid them over to her to have her first smoke in months. As she lit on end, she merely answered,"Fuck the police."

Sasha didn't protest when she started smoking, the fact that the house smelled heavily of it was enough as an invitation. "Amen."

Ymir leaned deeply back into the chair, making it prop up on the back legs with her head facing the ceiling, cigarette dangerously hanging to her lips by the skin.

"Your roomie, does he have access to this sort of information if she were in that program?"

"Maybe. I'll have him poke 'round, it'll get ya outta my house faster, right?"

"Damn right."

Sasha seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

Ymir wondered why the other organization never thought about seeping into the authorities to solve a seemingly difficult puzzle.

-...-

She awoke the next day on the couch, as Sasha had limited rooms to give her.

"Hnm..."

It was refreshing to rise in silence. The prison bells were annoying, the prisoners even more so, it was a change she had to get used to due to waking up at the same time. Ymir rubbed the sleep from her eyes and groggily stumbled to the bathroom to wash her face. She cleansed herself as best she could, then decided to wake a quick shower.

She scrubbed away, making sure she didn't drop the soap. As she ran the bar over her skin, she felt the bumps of old scars. She shrugged them away as she went to wash over her tattoo, she had an odd urge every time to keep it clean. Once done, she stepped out and found her bare reflection in the mirror.

She was tall, strongly built, and damn she needed a trim. Her hair had grown longer than what it was supposed to be, passed her shoulders. She grimaced and searched the drawers left and right until she found a pair of stylist scissors. She reached up and behind to trim away at the long locks, going at it until they dried and were now shorter at her preferred length.

It was still long enough for a ponytail, she found a tie off the side.

She tied it back, letting her bangs fall forward.

She managed to layer herself as best she could. It was messily done but not enough to make it look like a child done it.

Ilse would have been proud of her handiwork.

Ymir grimaced and returned the scissors to its proper place and cleaned up the area of her mess.

She walked out, fully clothed, and found Sasha dressed up for her outing.

"Where are you going?" Ymir asked her.

"Sellin' m'stuff," she said.

"Really? Who you going to?"

"Usual spot. If ya wanna get more dirt on stuff, tag along."

She may as well.

Ymir made sure to take a pack of cigarettes.

They were out on the street, making their way down town, walking fast...

"Ya cut yer hair," Sasha pointed out, fascinated at her work.

Ymir toyed with her short ponytail. "Yeah, kinda hate it too long."

"Suits ya well."

They went on for a couple blocks, then entered an alleyway. By the damp smell, Ymir could already tell it was the perfect place to conduct business. She saw a lone man standing at a door to where Sasha led her. He was heavily built, bulky, and intimidating, though Ymir never shirked. Sasha was used to him as he let her into the building, Ymir closely behind her heels.

He glowered down at Ymir, she merely smirked, Sasha let out something along the lines of,"she's with me," and went on.

They were in a bleak hallway, paint chips lined the walls. Pieces of dry wall littered the floor, Ymir kicked away a chunk as she said,"So...what's this?"

"Just'a bar," Sasha answered when they continued on.

She stopped at a door, knocked a few beats out, and waited.

"Special bar?"

"Very good bar if ya like shady people."

The door opened, the answerer was a young woman whose hair was in pigtails. "Sasha!" She said in a pleasant voice, her eyes went over to Ymir, she frowned. "Who's she?"

"Just'a friend."

"Right," she cautiously returned, she opened the door wider for her,"bar's not open. You got the stuff though?"

Sasha reached into her satchel and presented it to her, she nodded in approval and let them in.

The bar was dark though Ymir could make out the outlines of lamps that were supposed to make this place look like a rave. The woman, who she learned was named Mina, took guided them to an office to where a single stack of, you guessed it, drugs were haphazardly stored by a plant. Sasha placed the bag of cocaine to the table and was given money in exchange.

"Good to have business with you," Mina said, opening the bag to check the contents.

Ymir leaned against the back wall, arms crossed.

She cleared her throat just as they sparked a conversation of the daily life. This prompted Sasha to say,"Would it be alright if m'friend here gets access to this place?'

Mina raised a brow. "Depends."

"I'm looking for someone," Ymir said.

"Uh-huh...she a cop?"

Sasha shook her head. "Nah."

"I don't see a problem letting her in though I'd like for this office to be kept a hush."

Ymir raised one hand up. "Swear to God."

"Good. Now, both of you, out."

They were back on the streets, walking around.

Ymir never liked humid places, L.A. was one that had a lot of it. She found herself stripping off the pullover she wore, damn, so fucking hot. Sasha didn't seem to have any other business to conduct, they were heading back to her place.

"...why you out selling that stuff?" Ymir said, curious.

Sasha let out a long sigh. "Ran away from home, ain't got money or education. Bumped into Connie one day, he let me crash at his place but he needed help with the rent. I was goin' 'round lookin' fer a job, met Mina somehow and then she hooked me up with the whole drug stuff. Now I'm here, three years later. What 'bout ya?"

Ymir shrugged. "Nothing special to say, not anymore at least."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Spent a long time wandering all of SoCal, just trying to find work like every Mexican here."

Sasha glanced at her. "You don't look Mexican."

"Thank god I don't," Ymir huffed,"I'm a mutt. Woof."

"Ha!"

That night Connie came home. He looked like a dunce from first impression, he didn't seem to care about Ymir as he sat himself in front of the television set, watching some sports game. Sasha decided to approach him as Ymir kept to herself in the kitchen, smoking the night away. She heard a conversation rise.

"...lookin' fer someone under witness protection. Do ya got access?"

"Depends on who she's looking for."

"Historia Reiss."

"...I can try to find that. It'll get her out faster, right?"

"Yup."

Now for the wait.


End file.
